THE BASICS
Where and what do you want to study? How does it relate to U.S. national security?
Your program must have the potential to prepare you to contribute to U.S. national security. National security encompasses many factors affecting our country’s economic, military, social, and/or political well-being. For example, problems like sustainable development, resource depletion, environmental damage, food security, new infectious diseases, refugee migration, and economic competitiveness have significant security implications for the United States. Current and past Boren Scholars have made significant contributions to tackling global problems like these.
Five Preferences
As you read about our language, country, and field of study preferences, keep in mind two other factors we consider equally when we look at your application:
1) We give preference to students who submit proposals that propose a full academic year of study; support for summer programs is limited, as described in the subsection Structure your program.
2) Preference also will be given to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to a career in government service.
Language Study
Boren Scholarships focus on language study as a major component of your study abroad program. Study of a foreign language appropriate to the identified country must be an integral part of each proposal. Many Boren Scholars seek to enhance and extend previous language study, and to attain a higher level of fluency that only study abroad can offer.
When students pursue languages less commonly taught at U.S. institutions they may be starting from scratch. In those cases, prior study of another language may serve as an indication of interest and aptitude.
Spanish and French, while commonly spoken in Latin America and the Caribbean and in some parts of Africa, are not preferred languages of study. If you apply to study in a Spanish- or French-speaking country you must have advanced proficiency in the language. Students who are at an advanced level of Spanish or French must keep in mind that their proposed study abroad program should not emphasize language training, but rather academic study, which would require using Spanish or French in course work related to their field of study.
NSEP will consider applications from students at the intermediate level of Spanish or French if their field of study is in applied sciences or engineering. When you apply for the Scholarship, you will assess your own level of proficiency. If you are accepted, we will test you before you begin your program.
| Albanian |
Mandarin |
| Amharic | Mongolian |
| Arabic (and dialects) | Pashto |
| Armenian | Persian |
| Azerbaijani | Polish |
| Belarusian | Portuguese |
| Bulgarian | Romanian |
| Burmese | Russian |
| Cantonese | Serbo-Croatian |
| Czech |
Sinhala |
| Georgian | Slovak |
| Hebrew | Slovenian |
| Hindi | Swahili |
| Hungarian | Tagalog |
| Indonesian | Tajik |
| Japanese | Tamil |
| Kazakh | Thai |
| Khmer | Turkmen |
| Korean | Turkish |
| Kurdish | Uighur |
| Kyrgyz | Ukrainian |
| Kazakhstan |
Urdu |
| Lingala |
Uzbek |
| Macedonian |
Vietnamese |
| Malay |
Countries
With a Boren Scholarship, you can study in and about areas of the world critical to U.S. national security where most U.S. students do not study. You may not study in the U.S., or in Western Europe, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand on a Boren Scholarship.
| AFRICA | |
| Angola |
Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
| Congo | Cote d’Ivoire |
| Eritrea | Ethiopia |
| Kenya | Liberia |
| Nigeria | Rwanda |
| Sierra Leone | South Africa |
| Sudan | Tanzania |
| Uganda | Zimbabwe |
| East Asia and Pacific | |
| Burma |
Cambodia |
| China | Indonesia |
| Japan | Korea, North |
| Korea, South | Malaysia |
| Philippines | Taiwan |
| Thailand | Vietnam |
| Europe/Eurasia | |
| Albania | Armenia |
| Azerbaijan | Belarus |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria |
| Croatia | Czech Republic |
| Georgia | Hungary |
| Kazakhstan |
Kyrgyzstan |
| Macedonia |
Moldova |
| Poland |
Romania |
| Russia |
Serbia and Montenegro |
| Slovakia |
Slovenia |
| Tajikistan | Turkey |
| Ukraine | Uzbekistan |
| South Asia | |
| Afghanistan |
India |
| Pakistan | |
| Near and Middle East | |
| Algeria |
Bahrain |
| Egypt | Iran |
| Iraq |
Israel |
| Jordan |
Kuwait |
| Lebanon | Libya |
| Morocco | Oman |
| Qatar | Saudi Arabia |
| Syria | Tunisia |
| United Arab Emirates | Yemen |
| Latin America & the Caribbean | |
| Argentina | Brazil |
| Chile | Colombia |
| Cuba | El Salvador |
| Guatemala | Haiti |
| Honduras | Mexico |
| Nicaragua | Panama |
| Peru | Venezuela |
Students interested in countries that are not on this list must make a compelling argument in their application that increased understanding and appreciation of a particular country or region represents an important contribution to U.S. national security.
Fields of Study
If you are majoring or minoring in one of these fields you will be more competitive for a Boren award:
- Agricultural and Food Sciences
- Applied Sciences and Engineering, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics
- Area Studies
- Business and Economics
- Computer and Information Sciences
- Foreign Languages
- Health and Biomedical Science
- History
- International Affairs
- Law
- Linguistics
- Political Science and Policy Studies
- Social Sciences not listed above, including Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology
Students majoring in a field of study not listed here may submit an application, provided they present a compelling case for study abroad that links their field of study and future career goals to U.S. national security.